


Just Hold On, Kid

by dabforpalermo



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Author Will Go Down With This Ship, Berlin Is Hot, Bets, Fights, Fluff, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, I am not good at tags, Insults, Light Angst, M/M, Panic Attacks, Rio Is Apart Of Gen Z, Vomiting, allergic reactions, clubs, light Violence, that’s an actual fact
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24621958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dabforpalermo/pseuds/dabforpalermo
Summary: 5 times Denver helped Rio and one time Rio helped Denver.*Main ship is Denver/Rio but there are a few mentions of Berlermo and Nairobi/Bogotá*
Relationships: Berlin | Andrés de Fonollosa/Palermo | Martín Berrote, Denver | Daniel Ramos/Rio | Aníbal Cortés
Comments: 2
Kudos: 92





	Just Hold On, Kid

**Author's Note:**

> there are legit no fics with this ship and it made me rly sad so i made my own! i apologize for messy format i wrote most of this in the middle of the night, but enjoy!!!

\- 1

“You okay?”

Rio jumps, his curly hair bouncing slightly with the sudden movement. He’s been hunched over his computer for the last 45 minutes, his tongue poking from his lips, and a constant frown on his face. 

“Huh? Yeah, I’m good! What’s up?”

Denver smiles and stands next to him. “You’re going to have a bad back if you keep sitting like that.”

“It’s fine,” Rio dismisses, despite the way he straightens up his posture self consciously. 

“What are you even working on?” Denver asks, noting the way Rio sighs and looks down. 

“Uh.. Palermo asked me to hack into the security cameras. Something about a bet with Berlin that he’s insisting he won. But I guess The Professor managed to get a really good encryption on ‘em because I can’t get into them.”

“You’ll figure it out. You always do.” Denver smiles. Rio blushes and clears his throat, moving slightly and wincing. 

“You’re right about the back thing.”

“Here, let me help.” Denver moves, standing behind him. He slowly places his palms on Rio’s shoulder blades, starting to massage the muscles deeply. Rio lets out a small noise then covers his mouth with his hand, melting into the touch. 

“You’re so tense.”

“You would be too if your only use was to sit at a computer all day.”

Denver pushes his thumbs on either side of his spinal cord. “That’s not your only use.”

“What else do I do around here?”

“You’re very useful. You make some damn good coffee,” Denver laughs, applying more pressure. Whatever comeback resting at the tip of Rio’s tongue disappears, the boy groaning silently, and Denver tries his hardest to keep his hands above his waist. 

Just as Denver starts working on his neck, somebody clears their throat from the doorframe, causing Denver to jump back and remove his hands off of Rio. Berlin stands in front of them, his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised. 

“What’s going on here?”

“Palermo has him doing his dirty work,” Denver answers. Berlin scowls. 

“If this is about the bet I am going to rip his intestines out.”

“That’s a lovely way to talk about your husband,” Rio speaks, sitting up straight and smirking. 

“Mind your business, kid,” Berlin scolds. The smile falls from Rio’s face in embarrassment. Denver resists the urge to punch Berlin. 

“Hey, he’s the one who paid me!”

Berlin walks over to the two, frowning down at the computer. He studies the screen for a moment before closing the device. “He lost. Don’t let him convince you otherwise.”

“He was only trying to help.” Denver glares, gripping Rio’s shoulder. The boy places his hand on top of his own. “This wouldn’t be an issue if you weren’t so damn competitive.”

“You pick your battles, niño,” Berlin smiles again, all charming. “Anyway, don’t let Palermo bribe you into doing his work anymore, okay? And por favor, ease the sexual tension before I enter the room.” He pats Denver’s arm before exiting and leaving the two men blushing, Denver quickly pulling his hand away from under Rio’s. 

“He’s always on about something.”

“It’s so annoying.” Rio gripes, opening up the computer, but Denver shakes his head. 

“You go take a shower then a nap, okay? You need rest. You can’t keep overworking yourself.”

“Geez, mom, I don’t need naps anymore.”

“We all do.” 

Rio stands, stretching his back out. “You give a good massage, I’ll have to get you to do that again sometime soon.”

Denver grins, laughing a little bit. “Will do. Get some sleep, man.”

He hates the way his stomach flips when Rio smiles back at him. 

\- 2

“You’re just angry because you’re incompetent!”

“You’re still a fucking child! Get out of my face with your bullshit!”

“I’m 23!”

Denver groans, standing from the dining table and making his way toward the living room. He can hear the voices of Rio and Palermo screaming at eachother, a usual occurrence at this point. Berlin seems to have the same idea, because the two arrive at the scene at the same time. 

“You don’t understand a goddamn thing I say, because you’re an idiot! Stop trying to diminish my accomplishments because you can’t wrap your head around any of them!”

“You sit behind a computer all day and tell everyone you’re saving the world!”

“I am, asshole!”

“Hey, hey!” Denver steps in, gripping Rio’s arm. “What the hell’s going on?”

“He’s being a complete jerk just because he couldn’t code anything if his life depended on it.”

“Calm down on the insults. Although they’re amusing, they are simply adding fuel to the flame,” Berlin speaks, pulling Palermo away from Rio’s reach in case the kid decides to throw a punch. 

“He’s insisting that he’s the most useful person on the team. I simply put him back in his place.”

Before Rio can start yelling again, Denver turns to glare at Palermo.

“He is. You’re telling me that if you needed to hack into a security camera and disable every alarm in a building you could? Because Rio could do that with his eyes closed. Stop being such a narrow minded asshole and realize that other people are important too.”

Before Palermo can scratch his eyes out, or Berlin grabs his gun and puts a bullet through his head, Denver tightens his grip on Rio and drags him away. The boy stays quiet. 

“You don’t deserve to be treated like that here, I’m sorry,” Denver speaks once they’re seated in his bedroom. Rio sits on the bed and frowns. 

“It’s fine. I can take a few insults. You don’t have to defend me, you know.”

“I know I don’t have to. But I decided to.”

“I’m just tired of everyone treating me like a baby.”

Denver chuckles slightly, sitting down next to Rio. “You’re the baby of the group. Of course people are gonna treat you differently.”

“But you’re all acting like I’m some illiterate child! I could’ve taken Palermo down in a minute,” he says, though neither one of them believe it. It just makes me so mad.”

“You need to stop taking their shit, man. Yeah, you’re the kid of the pack, but you’re also stronger than you look.” Denver thinks for a moment. “We could stage a fight.”

Rio narrows his eyebrows. “Why would I want to beat you up?”

“I can take it. And you know I won’t actually hurt you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you either.”

Denver shrugs. “Like I said, I can take it. I have a very high pain tolerance.”

Rio ponders for a minute. “Are you sure?”

“They have too much respect for me right now. I want them to cool it down before Palermo invites me over for a threesome.”

“That would be a fun trio.”

They laugh, but Denver still feels an awkward weight in his gut. 

“You know, Palermo is just angry all the time and he takes it out on us. It has nothing to do with you.”

“I heard something bad happened with him and Berlin and that’s why they’re so attached to each other now. And why Palermo is so messed up.”

Denver exhales. “They need to figure their shit out.”

“I just wish everyone would stop picking on me, y’know?” Rio pouts, and for somebody who’s so insistent on being treated like an adult, he looks like a child who dropped his ice cream cone. Denver briefly wonders what he looked like as a child. “I can handle fights and shit, and I know I’m more than whatever Palermo says, but it still hurts.”

Denver doesn’t realize his hand is on Rio’s leg until the boy twitches under his touch. 

“And.. and I wish Berlin would stop hovering all the time. And for Tokyo to stop trying to break into my room in the middle of the night,” he says, and Denver definitely notes to bring that up again soon. “For The Professor to stop being so awkward all the time and for Bogotá to stop perving on Nairobi.”

Denver rubs his thumb comfortingly over Rio’s leg. “I know, everything’s weird. But hey, what a group of people we are, huh?” He laughs. “Everyone here is an asshole.”

“Not everyone.”

Denver raises an eyebrow. “Well yeah, Nairobi and Helsinki are exceptions.”

“And you.”

Denver freezes. He knows Rio is only being nice, and Denver will even admit that he’s a nice person, but he can’t help but feel disappointed that it’s only a kind gesture. He shakes his head minutely to try and get rid of the panic in his brain. There are a million things he wants to say. 

“You’re nice too,” he finally decides on, patting Rio’s thigh once more before standing. “Now, let’s plan out how you’re gonna kick my ass.”

\- 3 

They planned it out perfectly. At dinner tonight, Denver is going to make an offhand comment about Rio’s skill, and Rio is going to (lightly) deck him in the face, then Denver is going to hit the floor like he’s been shot. It’s better than any gold melting plan Palermo could come up with. 

So when Rio has yet to make eye contact with Denver for the last half hour, he gets a little nervous that the boy has abandoned the plan. 

“I heard yelling today. Is everything okay now?” The Professor asks. 

“Rio and I were having a civil conversation before Denver and his anger issues came in,” Palermo answers, a smug look on his face. Denver looks to Rio, and when he finds his eyes burning holes into the ground, Denver takes the opportunity to start. 

“I’m not saying I disagree with what you were telling him, Palermo. I’m saying you could be nicer about it.”

The table goes silent. 

“What about that whole speech you gave me about him being the most valuable person on the team?”

“I just said that to stop your immature fight. We all know Rio lacks the basic skills to be a thief.”

Denver clenches his fingers at his side, hating the words that are coming out of his mouth. Rio still hadn’t made a move to hit him, so he speaks again. 

“In fact, I think it was a stupid idea to get him on the team. He’s still a kid, professor. He could spend years in jail and get out in time to have a family. You are putting all of us in danger.”

Denver doesn’t see the fist coming, only feels a hard crack in his nose and the sensation of blood running down his face. He’s been in a lot of bar fights, sure, but nobody’s ever hit him like this. Denver doesn’t even have to pretend to hit the ground. 

Rio’s sitting on top of him in an instant, throwing more and more punches. Denver briefly notes Helsinki pulling the boy off of him while Berlin lifts him off the ground and grabs napkins, trying to stop the bleeding from multiple areas on his face. 

Denver opens his eyes, knowing they’re going to be swollen in the morning, and blinks a couple times, trying to get rid of the blurriness. He makes eye contact with Rio, who has tears streaming down his face and blood all over his fist, before Helsinki and Bogotá drag him away. Denver goes limp in Berlin’s arms and closes his eyes again. 

“Kid packs a punch,” Palermo notes, passing Berlin more napkins. The latter pinches Denver’s nose and sighs. 

“That was totally uncalled for, Denver. You didn’t need to be an asshole to him! He’s just a kid!” Nairobi scolds. Denver groans and opens his eyes again. 

“I know. I’m gonna go talk to him.”

Denver tries to move but The Professor orders Berlin to keep him still, knowing that if he tried to walk, vertigo would take over and he would fall face down onto the concrete. As the rest of the gang gives him disapproving looks and leaves, Berlin places him in the chair next to him and starts examining his face. 

“I know that was planned.”

Denver swats halfheartedly at Berlin's hands. The man presses his thumbs on either side of his nose to see if it’s broken. 

“He was supposed to hit me once.”

“I guess you struck a nerve.”

“Don’t say anything, especially not to Palermo. He just wanted to show everyone that he’s not as delicate as you all think.”

Berlin hums, wetting a napkin with his saliva and going in to wipe the dried blood from his nose. Denver attempts to pull his face away in disgust. 

“Palermo is protective over him. He sees a lot of himself in the kid. He just doesn’t want him to get hurt, so he tries to keep his ego in check. And as for everyone else, we are all aware that he is a strong boy. But like you said before, he is still a child.”

“He's 23, that’s hardly a child.”

“How old are you?”

He pauses. “Fair enough.”

Berlin is quiet for a moment. “You like him.” It isn’t a question. 

“I do. And it’s terrifying.”

Berlin wets some more fabric and cleans around his jaw. Denver doesn’t even try to fight it anymore. “You should tell him.”

“He likes girls.”

“Palermo thought the same of me.”

“I’m just scared I ruined it all and he hates me. I riled him up too much, but he wasn’t responding to anything before that.”

Berlin shakes his head and leans back in the chair. “You’re fine. He couldn’t hate you, Denver.”

Denver frowns down at his hands. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

“Nonsense. Go see him.”

Denver slowly stands up, accepting Berlin’s arm around his waist to keep him steady. When he regains his balance, he pushes the man away and walks into the building, making a beeline to Rio’s room. He knocks hesitantly. 

Rio opens the door, his eyes red rimmed, and Denver can see the angry scratch marks on his wrists. “Holy shit, I’m so sorry.”

Denver steps inside, closing the door behind him. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because I hurt you. I don’t know what came over me, I just blacked out and when I came back I was sitting in my room again.” Rio examines his face carefully, trying to find any injuries, but Denver assumes Berlin did a good job at cleaning him up because the boy's face calms down slightly. 

“It’s okay, man. It was part of the plan. I’m sorry I took it too far.”

Rio shrugs. “It wasn’t part of the plan to completely attack you.”

“Rio, it’s okay.”

Rio sniffles and wipes his eyes, stepping forward and pressing his face into Denver’s chest, wrapping his arms around his shoulders tightly. Denver freezes for a moment before returning the hug, his arms holding Rio’s waist gently. 

“It’s okay, don’t cry..”

Rio’s body shakes, causing Denver to pull him closer and start rubbing circles into his back. 

“Hey, hey..”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Denver…”

“You didn’t hurt me, it’s okay! I’m alright.”

Rio shakes his head. “You’re not.”

Denver pulls away from the hug, gently cupping Rio’s face. He would be embarrassed over the intimate gesture if his mind wasn’t solely focused on comforting Rio. 

“I’m okay. Everyone was impressed with you, Rio! They thought it was awesome. I mean, they’re all pretty mad at me, but if anyone else was saying the shit I was saying I would probably shoot them in the face. You’re alright. I’m not mad at you.”

Rio reaches up and lays his hands over Denver’s. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m positive. I’m not angry.”

Rio lets out a breath of relief and moves back closer to Denver, hugging him more gently. “Thank you for doing that.”

“Anytime. Well, we should probably wait until my face heals, but I’m here for you.”

Berlin's words prod at his heart, but he forces himself to swallow his tongue, knowing that whatever he has now with Rio isn’t worth risking everything over his stupid feelings. 

\- 4 

No personal information. That was one of the Professors first rules. No personal relationships, either, but it appears that that rule has been revoked. For some reason, Rio has decided that allergies are classified as personal information 

“What’s on the menu? ” Tokyo asks, sitting at the table and kicking her legs up. Berlin pushes them off the hardwood and glares at her. It’s well past 7, Rio’s starving, and everyone is already seated at the dinner table. 

“Pasta in peanut sauce.”

Rio tenses, looking toward the Professor to see if he’s going to say something. He assumed that when he was recruited and told that the Professor knows everything about him, his severe peanut allergy would be part of that. But the man doesn’t look up from his newspaper, so Rio decides that it’s not worth mentioning. 

Berlin and Nairobi start handing out plates, everyone starting to eat the second it’s in front of them. Denver looks up at Rio and furrows his eyebrows in confusion. 

“Do you not like it?”

Everyone turns to look at him, and Rio melts under their gazes. He shakes his head.

“No! No, I love this stuff! I’m just… I had a big lunch.”

Tokyo narrows her eyes at him. “You didn’t eat lunch.”

Rio shrugs. He doesn’t want to answer any more questions, so he grabs his fork and shoves as much pasta into his mouth as he can manage. He briefly wonders about the epipen sitting in his room before eating more. 

Within minutes, there’s heated conversation about classical music, and Rio really doesn’t want to bother anyone, but he can feel his throat closing up. 

“It’s boring!”

“It’s a form of art, you absolute imbecile!” Berlin yells, Palermo grabbing his arm to keep him in check. Rio carefully pats Denver’s leg. 

“What’s up?”

“My epipen is in my nightstand. I’m gonna pass out soon.”

“Okay- wait, what?” Denver turns, the attention back on Rio. The boy gasps in a breath and brings his hands to his throat, coughing harshly and trying to breathe. Denver grabs him and shakes him slightly. 

“Rio, Rio! What the hell?”

“Peanuts.” Rio gasps out, his face going purple. 

“Nairobi, go grab his epipen. Denver, lay him down on the ground. Someone get me a cool washcloth,” Berlin orders, ever the leader, then sits down on the ground and pulls Rio's head into his lap, Denver reaching over to stroke his hair gently. 

“Why the fuck didn’t you mention a deathly allergy before you ate this?!” Tokyo yells. Rio chokes and Denver wipes a stray tear from the side of his face. Nairobi comes back with the epipen and stabs it into his leg, Rio crying even harder. Berlin keeps his head propped up.

“You’re okay, you’re okay. Calm down,” Berlin soothes, taking the cold cloth from Helsinki and pressing it lightly over Rio’s forehead. 

“Is he gonna pass out?”

“Maybe. Try to breathe, kiddo. There we go. Good boy.” Berlin takes over Denver’s position of calming Rio, trying to get the boy to unlatch his hands from around his neck so he can breathe properly. 

Denver watches the scene unfold, staring at Rio with tears in his eyes and wanting to kill Berlin for putting the man he loves in danger. Rio’s eyes roll to the back of his head and he goes limp in Berlin’s lap. 

“Holy shit! Someone start CPR!”

“He’s fine, Denver. He’s breathing.” Berlin moves Rio’s hand and checks his pulse. “Feel for yourself.” Denver does it, not because Berlin ordered him to, but for his own sake. He lets out the breath he was holding and cups one side of Rio’s face. 

“Let’s get him up to his bed.” 

Berlin and The Professor take Rio up to his bed, Denver’s hands shaking so hard he can’t even pick up his fork, so he simply follows the two men upstairs and grabs a chair, sitting next to Rio’s bed. Berlin gives him a look of pity. 

“I take it you haven’t confessed your feelings?”

“Not now.”

“When is a better time than after a near death experience?”

“Berlin. Drop it.”

“Fine, fine. But you should really say something soon. We aren’t staying here forever.”

Denver doesn’t reply, grabbing Rio’s hand gently and watching the boy sleep. 

He must fall asleep himself, because he wakes up to loud coughing. Denver shoots up and wipes his eyes, trying to regain focus. 

“Hey, c’mon. Breathe.”

“‘M good.” Rio props himself up on the bed, taking a deep breath. 

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“I’m- what?” 

“Rio, you ate something and had an almost deathly reaction to it. Did you not know about your allergy?”

“.. I knew.”

“And you ate it? Why the hell would you do that? You almost died!”

“I wouldn’t have died!”

“Yes, you would’ve!”

“I didn’t want to be a bother…”

Denver pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re going to kill me one day. I swear to god.”

“It’s fine, I’ve had allergic reactions before. I just needed my epipen.”

“Why the hell would you eat something that you know you’re allergic to, Rio?” Denver keeps his voice calm, trying not to scare Rio. 

“Berlin put in a lot of work to make it, and I didn’t want to waste it, so I thought I could hold off the reaction until I got to my room, but it hit really quickly.”

“You’re so stupid sometimes.”

“It’s fine! I once ate a spoonful of peanut butter and one of those peanut butter cups and then used my epipen when I was like 10, and I still survived.”

Denver groans. “You need to be more careful. And you need to start speaking up.”

“It was nothing.”

“Do you have anything else you want to get off your chest while we’re talking?”

Rio’s quiet for a moment, then mumbles something. 

“Come again?”

“I’m allergic to all nuts, so, like walnuts and cashews and almonds and stuff. Off the table completely.”

Denver leaves the room. 

\- 5 

It wasn’t his idea to go to the club. In fact, Denver has about a million other places he would rather be than in this humid building. Nairobi, Bogotá, Tokyo, and Rio are all on the dance floor, Berlin and Palermo have mysteriously disappeared together, and it’s only Denver and The Professor sitting at the bar, sipping quietly at their drinks. 

“My head hurts,” Denver complains. 

“What?”

“My head hurts.”

“I can’t hear you!” The Professor yells. 

“My- never mind.” 

The Professor shrugs, finishing his drink and pulling out a notebook. Denver briefly wonders how the hell the man can focus enough to work in such an environment, but is dragged out of his thoughts when arms wrap around his waist. 

“Denver, come dance!”

“I don’t dance, Rio.”

Rio pouts, resting his face on Denver’s shoulder and squeezing him tightly. “C’mon, just one dance with me. Please?”

“Fine.”

Denver stands, trying not to smile when Rio whoops loudly and drags him out to the dance floor. He moves awkwardly to the beat, Rio going boneless and flailing his arms around, and Denver only wishes he could experience his carelessness for one day. 

One dance turns into two, then three, then four, then Denver feels like he’s gonna throw up. Rio takes pity on him and points him in the direction of the bathroom. 

Denver heaves over the toilet, his stomach muscles aching and his head pounding. He wipes his mouth, flushes the toilet, and makes his way out of the stall, staring at himself in the mirror. His skin looks blotchy and sweaty, his eyes are a bit more sunken than they usually are, and his neatly brushed hair is a wild mess. He examines himself for a few minutes before his phone beeps. 

From: Rio  
help creepyy guy wont leav me alon 

Denver splashes cool water on his face and leaves the bathroom, trying to find Rio in the large crowd. He finally spots the boy, basically pinned to the wall, awkwardly trying to get out of a conversation. Denver walks over toward the two of them and hears a bit of their conversation. 

“Don’t be a little bitch.” 

Rio freezes when the man wraps a hand around his neck, not having time to react before Denver is ripping the guy off of him and throwing him onto the ground. 

“What the fuck were you doing?”

“Watch it, man! He said he wanted me!”

“I never said shit, you fucking asshole!” Rio yells, riling Denver up even more. 

“Well maybe if you weren’t dressed like a whore, people wouldn’t try and get their hands on you!” The guy smirks, looking Rio up and down. Denver slides in front of Rio.

“I’m gonna give you another opportunity to apologize to him.”

“If anything you shouldn’t be apologizing to me, cockblock. He was totally gonna get with me.”

“Last chance.” Denver feels the anger rising in his throat, similar to the vomit, and clenches his fists. 

The man stumbles up, glaring at Rio. “You’re not worth it.”

“That’s it.” Denver throws a punch, following the guy as he falls to the ground and parading his face with his fists. Denver blacks out, only blinking out of his rage when Rio yells his name. 

“You’re gonna get the cops called on us. C’mon, I just wanna go home.”

Denver looks down at the unconscious body underneath him. “Fine. Let’s go.”

He grabs Rio’s arm and drags him outside, frowning angrily at the red mark on the boy's neck, then moves his attention to order a cab on his phone. 

“Thanks for kicking his ass.”

“I would’ve done more.”

Rio pulls him into a hug. “I’m okay. Is your hand alright?”

Denver shrugs, holding him close. “How did that guy even get the chance to talk to you? I thought you were with Nairobi and Tokyo.”

“They went to the bathroom, that asshole came to talk to me, tried to kiss me a few times, and wouldn’t take no for an answer so I texted you.”

“You should’ve punched him the second he tried to get with you.”

“I’m uncoordinated as it is, I don’t punch well when I’m drunk.”

Denver laughs, his fingers running through Rio’s hair gently. “You’re gonna sleep well tonight.”

“We can have a sleepover!”

“Sure, man. Whatever you want.”

They get in the cab, Rio’s head landing on Denver’s shoulder with absolutely no grace. Before Denver can even give the driver an address, Rio is snoring quietly. 

God, Denver grins, the things he would do for this man. 

+1

“You need to talk to him.”

“You need to leave me alone before I break your nose.”

Berlin chuckles. “So quick tempered. But let me just tell you, niño. Everyone is going to figure it out. It might as well be on your terms.”

“...What the hell do you mean?”

“I’m saying that unless you confess your feelings for him by the end of the night, I will go ahead and tell the entire gang about your little crush. Including Rio.”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

“Do you want to risk it?”

“Berlin, you couldn’t do that. You can’t fucking out me to everyone.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t, but as you know, I have no use for morals. Get a move on, lover boy.”

Denver sits down on the recliner, watching as Berlin leaves and not being able to stop the rush of panicked thoughts that start invading his brain. Berlin wouldn’t out him, would he? He couldn’t! Especially when he’s in a gay relationship! But, then again, Berlin has never once let values get in the way of doing something when his mind is made up on it. 

Denver can’t help the way his chest squeezes at the thought. He isn’t ready for everyone to know. His father was the only person who knew he likes boys, but now he can’t even go to him for advice. Denver finds that, horrifyingly, the only person he wants to talk to about his worries and doubts is Rio. 

He tries to suck in a breath but it feels as if he’s run a 20 mile marathon. His lungs are burning and he can’t get a breath in, his fingers making their way into his hair and pulling roughly, the pain grounding him for a moment. Denver weakly remembers his father's panic attacks, how he would deal with them, but the thought of Moscow only makes it worse. 

“Denver? Hey, hey! Holy shit, what’s wrong?”

Denver doesn’t look up at the voice, trying to rip every strand of hair out of his head. 

“Hey, c’mon. Look at me.”

Denver follows the voices orders, blinking a couple of times and focusing on the familiar face of Rio. 

“Just breathe, there you go! That’s good! Just- uh, keep doing that. In and out.”

Denver takes in a shaky breath, closing his eyes again. 

“Do you want me to talk?”

He nods hesitantly. 

“Okay, uh, Palermo looks ridiculous in his weird purple shirt. He keeps unbuttoning the top three buttons even though Berlin always does them back up again. I think Bogotá and Nairobi hooked up last night. I heard Nairobi and The Professor talk about having a baby, but I’m not too sure where that went because I dropped my wine glass and had to run so they didn’t know it was me eavesdropping. Helsinki recruited me to look through possible tattoo designs for him. I think he would make a good artist, don’t you think?”

Denver listens to his rambling, feeling his breathing even out. 

“Tokyo is being weird again. I know she has a crush on me, but I really am not interested in her. And it’s nothing personal! She’s really pretty, but I already have my eyes on someone else-“

Denver doesn’t register what he’s doing until his lips are pressed against Rio’s. He feels the boy freeze up, then immediately pulls back. “Shit. I misread that.”

“No! No, no no no. You didn’t! You read it right! I was talking about you.”

“Oh thank god. I’m pretty sure my heart has stopped working.”

Rio laughs nervously. “Was that what the panic attack was about?”

“Berlin said some weird things. He just freaked me out, I guess. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“No, don’t apologize! It’s fine! You’ve helped me through enough of my problems, I feel better being able to help you out in return. I mean, I don’t feel good that you had a panic attack, cause that’s not a good thing to have, but I’m just glad I can be of help-” Rio cuts himself off, blushing madly. “Uh, can we try that again?”

“Try what?”

“The… kissing thing.”

Denver grins, leaning forward and kissing Rio again. Their lips fit together perfectly, and although Rio is a little sloppy, Denver finds he couldn’t wish for anything else at this moment. 

And when Berlin re-enters the living room, hoping to see Denver and apologize for bluffing, but finds the two asleep, Denver’s fingers entangled in Rio’s hair as the boy’s head rests in his lap, he finds that maybe it was all worth it. He wants to run outside and tell everyone that two men are happy and in love because of him. 

‘No,’ Berlin thinks. ‘I’ll keep this victory to myself for now.’

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed! i life off of comments to let me know if there’s anything you want to see with this pair !!! :^)


End file.
